The Chinese government has been urged to provide better services for migrants and protect their legal rights and interests, said a senior Party official on Tuesday.

Good management of such people is key to maintaining social stability, said Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), at a meeting in Beijing.

Governments at all levels should improve public services for this sector of the population, help solve their problems, protect their legal rights and interests and reduce discrimination against them, Zhou said.

The Ministry of Education on Tuesday asked its local departments to ensure that children of migrant workers were enrolled in government schools and enjoyed the same tuition policies as those of permanent city residents.

China's migrant population is estimated to be about 140 million, most of whom are from rural areas but now work in cities. Those failing to find decent jobs sometimes turn to crime and cause security problems.

Zhou also said that local governments should encourage the public to take an active part in preventing crime and should focus spending on the areas that matter most to the public's daily lives.